Howard Cohen on American Idol

Howard Cohen has been writing about pop music for The Miami Herald since 1991, and has written the Idol Watch column since 2005. His weekly critique of American Idol and its contestants runs throughout the popular series.

American Idol 7's Then & Now week

American Idol's seven finalists fill out the two-hour show tonight with a half relevant/half irrelevant mix. The first half finds the Idols singing songs of today by Lady Gaga (two apiece), Alicia Keys (two apiece, including the oft-covered Simon-era audition song, Fallin'), Usher and Adele.

The second half features old soul songs from Steven Tyler's and the producer's generation from Marvin Gaye (two apiece), Sam Cooke, EW&F, Wilson Pickett and others.

Photo: FOX

Any wonders on why Idol's 18-24 audience continues to fall? Producers haven't had a fresh idea since Season 2. Might be interesting to see what host Ryan Seacrest says of his idol, Dick Clark, who passed away today at age 82. RIP Mr. Clark.